This invention relates to a washer/dehydrater and a method of washing laundry, which permits high efficiency washing with forward and backward rotation of a vessel-like stirrer disposed in a lower portion of a washing tub used for washing and dehydration.
Heretofore, there has been a washer/dehydrater of the rotary blade type in which, during washing operation, water streams are provided in a washing tub with the rotation of a pulsator to provide for an increased cleaning efficiency. In this washer, however, the laundry is essentially washed by moving it with water streams. Therefore, the washing tub has to have a large volume. This means that with the present volume of the washing tub the amount of laundry that can be washed is small. In addition, when the amount of laundry is small with respect to the size of the washing tub, the laundry is subjected to excessively strong water streams so that it is over washed. On the other hand, when the amount of laundry is increased, the speed of the water streams is reduced, and this reduces the cleaning efficiency. Further, the contact between laundry and pulsator takes place at random and only in part of the laundry. For this reason, it is impossible to expect rubbing washing effect for the entire laundry. In some cases, the laundry is partly damaged.
Recently, there has been proposed a washer of a novel type which does not have a pulsator, but the entire washing tub is rotated to produce a speed difference between the water and laundry so as to obtain a cleaning effect from the speed difference. This type of washer has a merit that it will not cause damage to the laundry. However, the speed difference between the laundry and water is low, and the movement of laundry is simple, so that the cleaning efficiency is low.
Further in any of the above washers during the dehydration, the laundry experiencing strong centrifugal forces due to the rotation of the washing tub at a high speed is strongly urged against the inner wall of the washing tub, so that it will remain stuck to the tub wall and cannot be readily separated therefrom even after a subsequent rinsing operation, resulting in a prolonged washing time.